Tag: Purpose

“Every man has a purpose, something special that he can do better than anyone else. Your work is to discover this, then give yourself to it. The extent to which you use your skills to add to the world determines your happiness.”—DeepakChopra

I had a conversation the other day with my son, Steven, who is contemplating whether to pursue his Master’s Degree (he currently holds a BS in Psychology from Loyola University – so proud of him!) or to venture off as an entrepreneur starting a design business with his best friend. Or maybe a janitorial business? So many choices! He currently has a great job at a hospital, although not in his chosen field, and it got me to thinking about how important it is to find your passion when you are considering your career path. My advice to my son? Do what you love to do!

According to a recent survey conducted by Yahoo! Finance/PARADE almost 60 percent of Americans polled would choose a different career. That means for most of us, if you work in a profession that you’re not charged up about, you could end up feeling uninspired and unfulfilled for a huge chunk of your life. That’s a lot of time and years to waste!

I personally didn’t start out as a publicist. I studied Criminal Justice and dreamed of a career as a profiler. That dream changed after I got married and had four beautiful children (my greatest love and passion, for sure!) and it wasn’t until I was in my early 30s that I started on a path to my chosen profession. With no formal education or experience in marketing or publishing, I launched a career as an entrepreneur and started my own Christian publishing company. I discovered a passion and a great love for marketing and publicity and embarked on an exciting and fulfilling journey which led me from running my own business for 15 years to leading the PR efforts of a large chiropractic group for 5 years and then back to my entrepreneurial roots with my own PR firm. Why did I end up working in publicity? Because I LOVE it! It’s my passion; it’s what gets me up in the morning and what I think about day-in and day-out. Simply put, I can’t imagine doing anything else. And being able to help other businesses and non-profits expand their reach and grow their market share? Giving back in this way brings me great joy. The inner profiler in me still loves watching Criminal Minds, however, I discovered that publicity was my true calling.

There are many reasons people get up to go to work every day and more often than not, it’s not just about getting paid. Some people find fulfillment by working for a company that shares their vision for helping people. Some people love their company culture – I hear Zappos employees are having tons of fun in their highly creative and zany workplace—and some are just nuts about crunching numbers all day. The key to happiness at work is to figure out what you are passionate about and what truly inspires you. Here’s the advice I gave to my son. Ask yourself what you would do with your life if you had everything? What would you do if you didn’t need the money?

If you’re contemplating changing careers, ask yourself the following: Is your current work meaningful and do you feel challenged? Do you enjoy it? Also, are you proud of the work you do and the company you work for? Do you feel like you’re part of the larger picture? An important question that I had to ask myself was whether I felt appreciated at work. That was a big one for me…and one that ultimately led me on a different path.

If you can’t answer yes to most of these simple questions about your job, it may be time to find inspiration in a new career. And if you’re just now pondering what it is that you want to do with your life career-wise, consider this: Life is short. Do more of what makes you happy, more of what brings value to others, and follow your bliss!

April Neill Public Relations is passionate about helping small businesses position themselves as experts in their industry. We offer a complimentary 30-minute in-person or phone consultation. Email AprilNeill@gmail.com to make your appointment today or call (312) 772-3832 for more information. Visit us online at AprilNeillPR.com. Follow ANPR on Facebook at Facebook.com/AprilNeillPR.